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Joining the Fort Abercrombie Garrison

Last weekend, I had a blast interacting with another unit closer to Grand Forks. It had the added bonus of being Union, which allows me to portray both sides in a given season, as I also fall in with Co. H. 1st South Carolina Infantry. Called the Fort Abercrombie Garrison, after the fort in southeastern North Dakota, but also known as Co. D, 5th Minnesota Infantry, it consists of several men from the Fargo-Moorhead area, as well as two (yours truly included) from Grand Forks.

Last Sunday, I drove to Detroit Lakes, MN to the Becker County Museum to join elements of the Garrison providing an interpretive display on the war to visitors for International Museum Day. It was great and, according to an article on DL-Online, over two hundred showed up. We set up a tent, two cannon, and displayed our equipment. We were dressed in a variety of Union uniforms and discussed the equipment and life of soldiers in the war. We also took the opportunity to tour the wonderful museum, which has many great displays and had several artisans on hand to demonstrate various skills. It was great fun and I even had the chance to recruit for the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, which is always a plus. I will also share a couple great pictures of us from the event. If the weather holds, I may be heading to Abercrombie on Sunday for their opening weekend. I look forward to being involved with this unit in the future.

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About Daniel Sauerwein

I am a graduate student in History at the University of North Dakota pursuing my PhD in History with a minor in Geography. My primary historical interests are military history, specifically early US and the Civil War.